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FreshArrival tells us about RedRoller
I came across this post from Chris Coyier on FreshArrival and thought it was worth quoting in its entirety.
Alongside the DateMyPet.com frisbee and iDont.com T-Shirt in my ValleySchwag Bag this month was a little red measuring tape with a logo for RedRoller.com on it. I had never heard of it, but they proport to be “The Best Way To Ship!”
The easiest way to explain it is RedRoller does for shipping packages what Priceline or Hotwire does for traveling. You enter where you are and what you want to send and RedRoller gives you a list of the different companies that will ship it, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. For example, for me to send a package from Madison, WI to Portland, OR that weights 1.5lbs in a Soft Pack will cost me $72.57 to get there tomorrow by 8:30am (FedEx), $36.53 to get there by 10:30am (DHL), or $18.80 to get there by noon (USPS). If I really didn’t care how long it took, I could get it there for $2.21 in a week through the USPS. Curiously absent was UPS - which wasn’t even listed in the “Excluded Services” like Eastern Connection or OvernightExpress.
You can decide on a method, pay for it, print your labels, and arrange for pickup all through your RedRoller account. There is also eBay integration. How very useful. How has this not existed until now?
Nicely stated Chris. With the tens of thousands of schwag pieces we handle I’d only glanced at the measuring tapes and hadn’t had a chance to look at RedRoller until I saw this post. I quickly confirmed that USPS priority mail was the best shipping method for domestic schwag. Alas, RedRoller doesn’t seem to have much non-US coverage for now.
This is one of those services that may appear underwhelming until you think about how long it would take to compare prices manually. Nice work RedRoller.
(If you have thoughts on any of the Valleyschwag companies just post them to your blog and email support@valleyschwag.com to let us know about it.)
August 9th, 2006 at 4:59 am
That does sound like a great service. I wasn’t one of the people who got the measuring tape, so I hadn’t heard about it.
August 12th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Ya, I didnt get the measuring tape or the frisbee, but it sounds like RedRoller is very useful. I wish they had a Canadian version of the site since it is mostly US-based.
August 16th, 2006 at 5:20 am
Not to sound too complain-y, but there hasn’t been much news of late and I’m getting a little concerned…
I’m a member of the “paid for four, got two” schwag club and I remember reading that you were going to refund people who were in my situation. Could you give us some idea of when that would happen?
I don’t really mind if you keep the money so far and use it as payment for packages when you do send them out, but I would like some more info about what’s going on. I’m just a poor student/file clerk, so I like to know where my money is going!
Thanks for listening (or reading).
-Mattie
August 16th, 2006 at 9:32 am
I don’t want to make you cry but … it’s August 16th and no July Schwag?
August 16th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
@Janel
It looks like we’ll start mailing packages next week.
Technically we don’t have a July package anymore — we took off the schedule so we can never be late!
@mattie
Just email support@valleschwag.com and we’ll bump you to the front of our refund list. We’re going to use the Paypal API to do mass refunds, but for now it’s all manual.
August 17th, 2006 at 3:10 am
^_^ Thanks!
I don’t need to be bumped up, I’ll wait my turn like a good girl. It’s just nice to know what’s going on.
November 19th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
folly queerest?compatibility stuffier transport clincher Gloriana evolving
January 18th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
This article is very informative but they recently dropped FedEx so now they just have USPS and DHL. A friend told me about http://www.shippingsidekick.com and when i checked it out i saw that they had FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL; along with the transit times of all four. If you want a full comparison of prices www.shippingsidekick.com is the only one i’ve found so far.
January 28th, 2007 at 4:50 am
Play this site, really appreciate it.
February 16th, 2007 at 9:23 am
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